Characterisation of Latvian Gooseberry Genetic Resources

Gooseberries are very popular in home gardens and have a long growing history in Latvia, although nowadays they are not among the most widely grown commercial berry crops. Growing was initiated by some enthusiastic breeders during the previous century, who developed many cultivars. Unfortunately, some part of this breeding material has already disappeared. Several expeditions were organised to collect still available genotypes. Plants of the obtained material were propagated and planted at the collections of Institute of Horticulture. During 2019–2021, to select the most valuable material for preservation in the National Genetic Resources Collection, an evaluation of the collected material as well as of cultivars of Latvian origin, was carried out. In total 23 genotypes were evaluated. Plant morphological, phenological, yield and fruit quality traits as well as resistance to pests and diseases and biochemical value were investigated. Evaluated genotypes showed great variability within the evaluated traits. GEN 693, GEN Drudze, GEN 88A, GEN 774 and Nr. 269 were selected as the most valuable and diverse genotypes from the collected and preserved breeding material. The Latvia origin cultivars: ‘Avenīte’, ‘Kuršu Dzintars’, ‘Maija’, ‘Mazērkšíotā’, and ‘Rita’, were selected for preservation in the recovered core collection.